Definition of "cupola" [cu•po•la]

• Architecture A vaulted roof or ceiling. (noun)
• Architecture A small dome set on a circular or polygonal base or resting on pillars. (noun)
• Architecture A domelike structure surmounting a roof or dome, often used as a lookout or to admit light and air. (noun)
• A cylindrical shaft type of blast furnace used for remelting metals, usually iron, before casting. (noun)
• A small rounded and domed structure, as for observation, on a tracked, armored vehicle. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "We then began to curiously follow that salt weld to the west, and we have 2 prospects that are keying off of what we call our cupola play."
• "The fresco of the main cupola above the altar of grace, showing the Fourteen Holy Helpers, Saints Henry and Cunegond, and the Blessed Virgin adoring the Most Holy Trinity:"
• "Use of computer workstations was envisioned in the cupola from the beginning."